24/7 Farm  News Coverage
July 31, 2018
FARM NEWS
To keep more carbon on the ground, halting farmland expansion is key



Washington DC (SPX) Jul 30, 2018
The conversion of forests to farmland is recognized as a major contributor to rising levels of greenhouse gases. And yet it hasn't been clear how to best minimize the loss of sequestered carbon into the atmosphere. Is it better to maximize farm yields so as to use less land area over all? Or should farms be operated so as to retain more carbon on site, even at the expense of crop yields? Researchers reporting in Current Biology on July 26 say that, based on their extensive studies of agricultural ... read more

FARM NEWS
Record drought grips Germany's breadbasket
Niederndodeleben, Germany (AFP) July 29, 2018
Withered sunflowers, scorched wheat fields, stunted cornstalks - the farmlands of northern Germany have borne the brunt of this year's extreme heat and record-low rainfall, triggering an epochal drought. ... more
FARM NEWS
Wildfires, drought hit Sweden's Sami reindeer herders
Stockholm (AFP) July 27, 2018
Sweden's unprecedented drought and devastating wildfires are destroying vital grazing pastureland for indigenous Sami reindeer herders, whose livelihoods are already under attack from mining and logging as global warming changes the face of the Arctic. ... more
FARM NEWS
Murkowksi: Tariffs hurt more than just agriculture
Washington DC (UPI) Jul 27, 2018
President Donald Trump has been called on by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, to take a broad view on trade policies to recognize that impacts extend beyond farming into the energy sector following his announcement of aid for U.S. farmers this week. ... more
FARM NEWS
EU court extends GMO rules to new techniques
Luxembourg (AFP) July 25, 2018
Plants and animals created by new techniques of genetic modification should be treated as Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and follow European rules aimed at preventing damage to the environment and health, the EU's top court said on Wednesday. ... more
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FARM NEWS
NASA's 'Space Botanist' Gathers First Data
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 24, 2018
Just days after its successful installation on the International Space Station, NASA's newest Earth-observing mission, the ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTR ... more
CLIMATE SCIENCE
Sri Lanka waives debt for 200,000 women in drought areas
Colombo (AFP) July 25, 2018
Sri Lanka announced Wednesday it would waive debts for 200,000 women unable to repay microfinance loans and cap lending rates after a number of borrowers in drought-hit areas killed themselves. ... more
WAR REPORT
In Colombia, human rights activists live in constant fear
Caloto, Colombia (AFP) July 25, 2018
One day after Luis Dagua last left his farm in Colombia's southwest his body was found, his head shattered with a rock. ... more
WOOD PILE
Ancient farmers transformed Amazon and left an enduring legacy on the rainforest
Exeter UK (SPX) Jul 24, 2018
Ancient communities transformed the Amazon thousands of years ago, farming in a way which has had a lasting impact on the rainforest, a major new study shows. Farmers had a more profound effec ... more
FARM NEWS
China's persistent food and drug safety problem
Beijing (AFP) July 24, 2018
Chinese authorities are scrambling to defuse public outrage over a safety scandal involving rabies vaccines, just one of a string of food and drug scares to hit the country in recent years. ... more
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FARM NEWS
We can feed the world if we change our ways
Lancaster UK (SPX) Jul 24, 2018
Current crop yields could provide nutritious food for the projected 2050 global population, but only if we make radical changes to our dietary choices, a new study shows. Researchers from Lanc ... more
FARM NEWS
Japan lifts ban on Canadian wheat imports
Tokyo (AFP) July 20, 2018
Japan on Friday lifted a ban on Canadian wheat imports more than a month after it halted shipments following the discovery of unauthorised genetically modified (GM) plants there. ... more
FARM NEWS
China's 'livestock revolution' demands 'new transition'
London, UK (SPX) Jul 23, 2018
Demand for animal protein and increasing wealth fuelled a tripling in the domestic production of livestock in China between 1980 and 2010, and the rise, despite some improvements in efficiencies at ... more
FARM NEWS
Dying groundskeeper to testify in Roundup cancer trial
San Francisco (AFP) July 23, 2018
A California groundskeeper dying of cancer is slated to testify Monday before jurors hearing evidence in his lawsuit blaming Monsanto weed killer Roundup for his terminal illness. ... more
FARM NEWS
HRW urges Brazilian lawmakers to reject new pesticide law
Sao Paulo (AFP) July 20, 2018
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday called on Brazilian lawmakers to reject a proposed law to relax regulations on the use of pesticides as it published a report blaming powerful landowners for the poisoning of rural residents. ... more


Environmental changes in the Mekong Delta spell trouble for farmers

FARM NEWS
Dying groundskeeper links Monsanto's Roundup to cancer
San Francisco (AFP) July 24, 2018
A California groundskeeper dying of cancer said Monday he would "never" have used Monsanto weed killer Roundup, had he known it could lead to his terminal illness. ... more
SEED DAILY



FARM NEWS
Cameroon's anglophone crisis hits palm oil, cocoa production
Libreville (AFP) July 18, 2018
The crisis in anglophone Cameroon is damaging the Southwest Region's economy, with palm oil plantations closing and the cocoa trade tumbling, an NGO report said Wednesday. ... more
WATER WORLD
Taiwan steps in after China turns off tourist taps to Palau
Taipei (AFP) July 19, 2018
Taiwan has stepped in to help its ally Palau attract more tourists after an airline from the Micronesian nation said it was forced to shut under pressure from China. ... more
WATER WORLD
Using 'shade balls' in reservoirs may use up more water than they save
London, UK (SPX) Jul 19, 2018
Preventing reservoir evaporation during droughts with floating balls may not help conserve water overall, due to the water needed to make the balls. During droughts, communities may rely on wa ... more
FARM NEWS
Researchers engineer bacteria to create fertilizer out of thin air
Saint Louis MO (SPX) Jul 19, 2018
In the future, plants will be able to create their own fertilizer. Farmers will no longer need to buy and spread fertilizer for their crops, and increased food production will benefit billions of pe ... more
CLIMATE SCIENCE
European heatwave brings drought, wildfires
London (AFP) July 20, 2018
Wildfires in the Arctic Circle, drought-stricken farmers and a spike in hospital treatment for sunburn: an unusually long heatwave this summer has northern Europe in its grip. ... more
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Satellite tracking reveals Philippine waters are important for endangered whale sharks
Washington DC (SPX) Jul 30, 2018
A new scientific study published in PeerJ - the Journal of Life and Environmental Sciences has tracked juvenile whale sharks across the Philippines emphasising the importance of the archipelago for the species. The study is the most complete tracking study of whale sharks in the country, with satellite tags deployed on different individuals in multiple sites. The Philippines is an importan ... more
+ Satellite maps reveal spread of mountaintop coal mining in Appalachia
+ Preparing to fly the wind mission Aeolus
+ Red Sea flushes faster from far flung volcanoes
+ NASA Debuts Online Toolkit to Promote Commercial Use of Satellite Data
+ Abrupt cloud clearing events over southeast Atlantic Ocean are new piece in climate puzzle
+ Billion-year-old lake deposit yields clues to Earth's ancient biosphere
+ MetOp-C launch campaign kicks off
China launches new twin BeiDou-3 navigation satellites
Xichang, China (XNA) Jul 31, 2018
China on Sunday sent twin satellites into space via a single carrier rocket, entering a period with unprecedentedly intensive launches of BeiDou satellites. The Long March-3B carrier rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 9:48 a.m., the 281st mission of the Long March rocket series. The twin satellites are the 33rd and 34th of ... more
+ GMV and Tecnobit partners with Skydel
+ Arianespace orbits four more Galileo satellites, as Ariane 5 logs its 99th mission
+ Europe's next Galileo satellites in place atop Ariane 5
+ CTSi flight tests prototype navigation system to replace GPS in highly contested environments for US Navy
+ Love navigated by Beidou
+ Next four Galileo satellites fuelled for launch
+ NASA Tests Solar Sail for CubeSat that Will Study Near-Earth Asteroids


Tropical forests may soon hinder, not help, climate change effort
Edinburgh UK (SPX) Jul 30, 2018
Forests in tropical regions could soon become a source of greenhouse gases, contributing to global warming rather than helping to counteract it, according to research. Loss of trees to agriculture or livestock in tropical regions and the impact of climate change is limiting the forests' ability to absorb carbon dioxide, a study shows. This could make it impossible to meet the main go ... more
+ Watchdog urges China to clamp down on imports of illegal timber
+ Fires spark biodiversity criticism of Sweden's forest industry
+ Behold the Amazonian eco-warrior drag queen
+ Tropical forests could soon accelerate, not slow, global warming
+ Treetop species threatened by rising temperatures among forest canopies
+ In Mozambique, a joint fight against climate change and forest loss
+ Ancient farmers transformed Amazon and left an enduring legacy on the rainforest
Team shatters theoretical limit on bio-hydrogen production
Lincoln NB (SPX) Jul 27, 2018
In 1977, researcher Rudolf Thauer proposed a theoretical ceiling on the amount of hydrogen that bacteria could produce via fermentation, the sugar-converting process also responsible for yogurt, beer and cheese. Propelled by a genetic engineering technique that presents bacteria with a simple choice - adapt or die - research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln just punched through that ... more
+ Hydrogen and plastic production offer new catalyst with a dual function
+ Feeding plants to this algae could fuel your car
+ Splitting water: Nanoscale imaging yields key insights
+ Carbon dioxide-to-methanol process improved by catalyst
+ Finding the right balance for catalysts in the hydrogen evolution reaction
+ Biorefineries will have only minimal effects on wood products and feedstocks markets
+ New 'promiscuous' enzyme helps turn plant waste into sustainable products


New two-dimensional material could revolutionize solar fuel generation
Sao Paulo, Brazil (SPX) Jul 30, 2018
Following the isolation of graphene in 2004, a race began to synthesize new two-dimensional materials. 2D materials are single-layer substances with a thickness of between one atom and a few nanometers (billionths of a meter). They have unique properties linked to their reduced dimensionality and play a key role in the development of nanotechnology and nanoengineering. An international gro ... more
+ NRL increases UAV endurance with Solar Soaring technology
+ WorleyParsons' Advisian wins major role on world's largest solar power project
+ Solar Industry Pros Get Quick Solar Power Readings with New Extech Pocket-Sized Meter
+ Materials scientists of Lomonosov MSU proposed a novel approach for obtaining films for solar cells
+ NUST MISIS scientists present metamaterial for solar cells and nanooptics
+ States boost renewable energy and development when utilities adopt renewable standards
+ Canadian energy company says renewables key to emissions goal
Searching for wind for the future
Thuwal, Saudi Arabia (SPX) Jul 19, 2018
Using outputs from a high-resolution regional climate model, KAUST researchers have confirmed the potential for wind as a significant energy resource across the Arabian Peninsula. This is an important first step in developing a strategy for Saudi Arabia's wind energy sector. As part of an ongoing collaboration with the University of Notre Dame in the United States, Marc Genton's research g ... more
+ Clock starts for Germany's next wind farm
+ ENGIE: Wind energy footprint firmed up in Norway
+ Batteries make offshore wind energy debut
+ India embarks on offshore wind energy effort
+ New wind turbines are even efficient in low winds
+ Cryptocurrency blowing in the wind as mine opens in Estonia
+ U.S. Atlantic states eye offshore wind leadership


Mapping mountaintop coal mining's yearly spread in Appalachia
Durham NC (SPX) Jul 30, 2018
The coal industry may have declined in the last decade because of the rise of cheap natural gas, but a coal mining method called mountaintop removal is still taking place, particularly in central Appalachia. A new web-based mapping tool shows, in more detail than ever before, the land laid bare by mountaintop coal mining in central Appalachia each year, going back more than three decades. ... more
+ Miner Yancoal seeks dual listing in Hong Kong
+ Rescuers save 23 workers trapped in China mine, 11 others dead
+ Dutch to close two oldest coal-fired plants by 2025
+ U.S. wants input on coal plants of the future
+ Two Polish miners killed, three missing after quake
+ Germany's Allianz to stop insuring coal businesses
+ U.N.: Coal still has a short-term future
Historic Chinese town resists eviction for theme park
Chikan, China (AFP) July 25, 2018
A year ago, customers queued round the block for Wu Ying's red bean and coconut ice puddings, but now the 60-year-old has to vault a barricade to reach her dessert shop. Wu is one of several dozen inhabitants of a historic section of the town of Chikan in southern China who are stubbornly holding out against government pressure to sell their properties to make way for a "heritage" theme park ... more
+ Tibet bans religious activities for students
+ Viral post inflames public anger in China vaccine scandal
+ Ten jailed in Vietnam over violent anti-China demos
+ Hong Kong academics warn of 'political battleground' at universities
+ Hong Kong police seek landmark ban on pro-independence party
+ Hong Kong activists mark one year since Liu Xiaobo death
+ Chinese democracy activist sentenced to 13 years for 'subversion'


US Army selects Lockheed Martin as integrated systems developer for autonomous convoy program
Dallas TX (SPX) Jul 31, 2018
Lockheed Martin was selected by the U.S. Army's Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) as the Integrated Systems Developer for its Expedient Leader Follower (ExLF) program. In this role, Lockheed Martin will lead a three-year effort to develop, integrate and test unmanned prototype systems for supporting leader/follower convoy activities within an asymmetric ... more
+ Cell-sized robots can sense their environment
+ If only AI had a brain
+ Army researchers teaching robots to be more reliable teammates for soldiers
+ Microbots capable of sensing environs could explore intestines, pipelines
+ Russia Mulls Sending Two of Its FEDOR Humanoid Robots Into Space Next Year
+ New creepy, crawly search and rescue robot developed at Ben-Gurion
+ Emotional robot lets you feel how it's 'feeling'
Hamburg Ironman swimmers sunk by algae
Berlin (AFP) July 27, 2018
Organisers have been forced to scrap the swimming leg of the Hamburg Ironman this Sunday due to high levels of algae in the city's Alster river caused by the current heatwave. The condition of the water has been deemed "potentially harmful to health", so the swimming has been replaced by a six-kilometre (3.7mile) run. "In order to protect all athletes, there will be a 6km run instead of ... more
+ High-precision on-site analysis of precious metals in metallurgical waste spills
+ No day at the beach as toxic algae hit Baltic coast
+ China steps up controls on maritime emissions
+ Record 207 environmental activists killed last year
+ BHP vows to fight Australia Samarco mine disaster class action
+ Concrete weighs heavily on the Mediterranean coast
+ Morocco's litter-strewn beaches kick up a stink


Greek PM Tsipras visits scene of wildfire disaster
Athens (AFP) July 30, 2018
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Monday paid his first visit to the area ravaged by the country's worst ever wildfires, as anger mounts over his government's response to the disaster which claimed scores of lives. His trip, a week after the fires broke out, was not announced beforehand in what local media said was a bid to avoid protests by residents of the hard-hit seaside communities ... more
+ 'Come and get me,' boy pleaded before California fire death
+ US government approves aid as California battles raging wildfires
+ Blame game blows up over deadly Greek wildfires
+ Greece counts cost of deadliest wildfires in memory
+ 'Serious' signs arson started deadly Greek wildfire
+ Local Winds Play Key Role in Some Megafires
+ Greece counts cost of deadliest wildfires in memory
The last wild ocean
Santa Barbara CA (SPX) Jul 30, 2018
The ocean, long a source of inspiration for exploration and discovery as well as a place to test the limits of humans, is no longer the wild frontier it once was. An international study published in the journal Current Biology demonstrates that only 13 percent of the ocean can still be classified as wilderness. "The idea of wilderness is powerful for people, as well as for nature," said UC ... more
+ The blueprint for El Nino diversity
+ First mapping of global marine wilderness shows just how little remains
+ Thick mud hampers Laos dam rescue with hundreds still unaccounted for
+ Ocean acidification is disrupting marine ecosystems, study shows
+ Untouched ocean habitats rapidly shrinking: study
+ 'Coral ticks' suck the life out of degraded coral
+ France cleared to test tidal energy


Portugal prepares for fire intervention as heatwave approaches
Lisbon (AFP) July 30, 2018
Portugal said Monday it has mobilised more than 10,000 people and boosted control operations in fire-prone areas of the country ahead of a major heatwave to avoid a repeat of last year's deadly wildfires. "This year, we have in place the biggest plan ever: 10,700 men and women around the country," including "voluntary firefighters, police and soldiers," Interior Minister Eduardo Cabrita told ... more
+ Heatwaves from the Arctic to Japan: a sign of things to come?
+ Heatwave grips northern Europe as Greece burns
+ 'Unprecedented' Japan heatwave kills 65 in one week
+ 'Unprecedented' Japan heatwave kills 65 in one week
+ Japan heatwave kills over a dozen, 12,000 rushed to hospital
+ Fierce heatwave hits Japan flood recovery
+ Rescuers search for survivors of Afghan landslide: officials
UK's chief diplomat begins Brexit bargaining tour
London (AFP) July 29, 2018
Britain's new foreign minister begins his first major international trip with a visit to China on Monday, bidding to strengthen trade ties with Beijing ahead of Brexit next year. "The UK and China are both major powers with a global perspective", said foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt in a statement issued ahead of the visit. "As the UK leaves the EU and becomes ever-more outward-looking, we ... more
+ UK's Hunt welcomes China's offer of talks on post-Brexit trade deal
+ China manufacturing activity eases in July
+ Australia, US, Japan in Indo-Pacific infrastructure push
+ IMF warns China against aggressive economic stimulus
+ BRICS nations pledge unity as trade war threatens
+ US says China is increasing state's economic control
+ Germany preparing first veto against Chinese takeover: report
Daily Newsletters - Space - Military - Environment - Energy

NASA's Parker Solar Probe and the curious case of the hot corona
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jul 30, 2018
Something mysterious is going on at the Sun. In defiance of all logic, its atmosphere gets much, much hotter the farther it stretches from the Sun's blazing surface. Temperatures in the corona - the tenuous, outermost layer of the solar atmosphere - spike upwards of 2 million degrees Fahrenheit, while just 1,000 miles below, the underlying surface simmers at a balmy 10,000 F. How the Sun m ... more
+ Parker Solar Probe and the birth of the solar wind
+ 'Blood moon' dazzles skygazers in century's longest eclipse
+ Red planet and 'blood moon' pair up to dazzle skygazers
+ Rare Red Moon and Mars in Evening Sky on 27 July
+ NASA prepares to launch Parker Solar Probe, a mission to touch the Sun
+ How does the sun's rotational cycle influence lightning activity on earth?
+ Discovering Structure in the Outer Corona
Bacteria extinctions are quite common, study shows
Washington (UPI) Jul 30, 2018
Until now, many scientists thought microbes rarely go extinct. But new research suggests bacteria species disappear at surprisingly high rates. According to the latest analysis, when bacteria do go extinct, they fade away. The study, published Monday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, showed bacteria are rarely snuffed out by mass extinction events. Scientists used adva ... more
+ NZ strikes off-note by stripping ivory off 123-yr-old British piano
+ Rise of the grasshoppers: New analysis redraws evolutionary tree for major insect family
+ It's a small world: In Japan, moss wins hearts
+ Tenth rhino dead in Kenya after disastrous transfer
+ Endangered pygmy elephant shot dead on Borneo
+ Bolivian water frog in lovelorn race against clock
+ 2,700 scientists warn US-Mexico wall endangers wildlife


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